A very scared 17 year old

[Chesyre]

join the police force  that way you have firearms when most of your  fellow ciitizens do not .  just don't go all crazy and start wearing motorcycle leathers , owning a realy ugly dog , a sawed off shotgun and calling yourself rockatansky , wait till next year for that 

[ashmeadskernel]

How 'bout this: assume, just for a moment, that Peak Oil doesn't exist.  I know, I know, for an engineer, this is a virtual impossibility, but for a more humanities oriented individual, this might just be possible, like imagining that your favorite piece of literature is true and happening in front of your eyes instead of saying "yeah right, teenagers just don't act or speak like that."  Anyway, Peak Oil doesn't exist and you can do anything you want in the world to make sufficient money to make your way in the world while staying out of debt, paying for food, lodging, housing, etc...  So... what do you want to do?  For older folks, it's kind of like making a bucket list.  What do you want to do before you die?  I mean, do you even like gardening? 

Me, for example, I hate gardening.  Can't stand it.  I'm the one who's gonna be fixing you gardener's tools and fashioning new ones out of rusted car hulks.  I'm also going to know who owns what tools in the vacinity, and what they might possibly want in exchange for its rental use.  I also have an orchard full of fruit trees, that I'm happy with.  If I were going to college and had to do it all over again, I'd have picked up as many engineering courses as I could, regardless of what my grades were, instead of this crappy Psychology degree I've got.  But, that's me.  You are you, and you might want to be the local community leader or problem resolver.  Or maybe you want to be in charge of the local warlord's army's morale.  Or maybe you want to be a chaplain in the aforementioned army.  Maybe you just want to be a grunt, told what to do by your community elders.  Or maybe you don't want to be told what to do and want to explore things on your own and find your own path.  I don't know.  But dreaming up stuff is a good way to begin to figure out what you want to do.  There is no one right way to prepare for the coming dieoff.  We'll need people of all kinds, with all kinds of skillsets, including daycare workers.  You better believe we're going to want local schooling/babysitting faculty to watch really young children while both parents are in the fields or otherwise engaged in community survival.

MZBs don't require degrees.  It's merely a question of what knowledge you wish to acquire in order to accomplish your dreams, and where the best places and steps to acquire that knowldege and social networking is located.

[JurisDoctorOfDoom]

Make sure to check out Dmitry Orlov's writings, including the advice for kids your age:

http://www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net/Prepare.html

[haveeight]

Squalor, I think many of us on this forum would feel like you if we were 17 and had recently learned about Peak Oil.  

You have every right to feel frightened and unsure of your future.  

You do, however, have the advantage that your parents are also PO aware and want to take some action in their lives concerning the implications of what the world is facing.  You're young, intellegent, and I assume healthy, that means you still have time to think this problem through.  

The fear will subside and constructive ideas will come to you.  You may not end up a farmer, blacksmith, or bike repairman. Though all those will come in handy in the years ahead, even in the 19th century world had people that taught, wrote, painted, and acted.  Just make sure you're not total ignorant about some of the more practical skills people will need.  Knowing there is a problem is the first big step in survival.  

[Bastetmeow]

Hi, you know about peak oil already, so that instantly makes you more prepared than most of the population... your parents are aware, so that's even better (and very rare)!

I'm 16 and live in a medium sized (45,000 pop.) town in NZ. I've known about peak oil for about 5 years, but only starting worrying about it 2 or 3 years ago when I realised my parents refused to believe what I was telling them and were making no attempts to prepare. That coincided when I was really sick, and the stress of it didn't help my health at all. Gradually though, you get used to peak oil, and panic less and less (although i still have the odd WE'RE GONNA DIE moment )...

Apart from a small vege garden, I have no preparations made specifically for peak oil. I have no idea what I am going to study at university, or if I will even go (I'm mediocre at school and my chronic illness stops me from participating fully in school as it is). The only remotely practical thing I'm good at is shooting, and that's not going to be useful in the middle of town.

I'm interested in the environment, though, and I am a member of my local Transition Town movement, which is basically preparing the community for a slow oil crash via implementing new initiatives (for example encouraging bicycle use, and talking to schools). It's made slow progress but the best thing about it is that I have met many other peak oil aware people in my town. If you have such a group in your area, it might be a good idea to join it, if only to meet other PO-conscious people who may be able to help you down the line.

If I were you, I'd choose a practical skill to learn at university (definitely go... take advantage of the relatively prosperous time we live in now). Maybe something that existed 100 years ago, or that can be applied to a society with less resources. Apart from that, I'm not sure. Know that you and your family are already better off than the vast majority of people, just by actively seeking to prepare for peak oil.

Scott

[Broil]

http://www.transitionsydney.org.au/

[Squalor]

Thanks everyone, you were all a lot of help =]

I've already suggested many of these ideas to my parents, and they were quite receptive to them. They already do quite a bit of gardening, and there's actually this thing on just down the road from us in a few weeks teaching people the best ways to 'eco-garden', which will probably be of some use. I'll have to learn some more practical skills, because I don't have many- I've always struggled a bit with practical things. My dad is thinking of getting in touch with the Transition Town people- supposedly there's a potential community quite near to us. And we're going to go see the film The Age of Stupid tomorrow. Still in preliminary stages, but it's a start

[Chickengirl]

'nother aussie here, g'day 

considered teaching?

post crash, teaching is still going to be needed - you can do English Lit/Philosophy or English Lit/Studies in Religion as a dual degree and then do a post grad course in Education 

I did English (no extention in my school, but I was in the top three lol), Math A (basic stuff), Ancient History, Drama, P.E and Ag Science for years 11 and 12 - talk about a mixed bag, and bloody useless for not much at all 

went to uni, doing a BA in English Lit/Drama, loved it, fell pregnant (don't do this, from either side of the coin ), dropped out, raised small child as single parent, fell in love with plants, am now a horiculturalist, and am starting some informal herbalist studies.

My point? Life changes, and what you are interested in at 17 changes as you get older. But some skills and knowledge will always be handy. Was my uni time a waste? Nope, I got a lot out of it - some good research skills, new ideas, and I got to read a lot of good books  Learning more about what you love is always going to be good, even if you don't end up "using" it.

But what I do *now* directly relates to my PO preps.

Further study is great - combine it with some practical stuff, keep your hands dirty. Perhap see if there are some local city farms/ community gardens near you that runs courses (there is one in Brisbane that runs courses on permaculture, organic gardening, keeping bees, chooks, etc etc, although I know Brisbane is a bit far away lol - there should be some down there too).

Broil's suggestion of getting into transition towns is good too - not only will you meet likeminded people, but you will learn more about how your commuity is prepped (or not) as well as many new skills

[Broil]

"Broil's suggestion of getting into transition towns is good too "

Bastetmeow's suggestion!

[Chickengirl]

"Broil's suggestion of getting into transition towns is good too "

Bastetmeow's suggestion!

so it was  Sorry Bastetmeow, I missed that bit, and only saw Broil's link 

[Bastetmeow]

 

[residualheat]

Thanks everyone, you were all a lot of help =]

I've already suggested many of these ideas to my parents, and they were quite receptive to them. They already do quite a bit of gardening, and there's actually this thing on just down the road from us in a few weeks teaching people the best ways to 'eco-garden', which will probably be of some use. I'll have to learn some more practical skills, because I don't have many- I've always struggled a bit with practical things. My dad is thinking of getting in touch with the Transition Town people- supposedly there's a potential community quite near to us. And we're going to go see the film The Age of Stupid tomorrow. Still in preliminary stages, but it's a start

Sounds like you're on the right path, Squalor and it's good that your parents are aware and already garden; no excuses on getting out there to lend a hand now!

When you say you've always struggled with practical things, what do you mean exactly? Are you clumsy, does your carpentry resemble an MC Escher optical illusion, do you pull a muscle every time you pick up a spade? A lot of us start that way and some of us don't get much better, but most of us get by and much of it can be overcome with practice and patience.  I've lost count of the number of foolish things I've done whilst attempting DIY.

Hope you enjoy 'The Age of Stupid' - it's a good film, made with much care.

[Squalor]

You know those people who, in some academic fields, give the appearance of intelligence but actually lack a lot of common sense etc? I'm like that. Not to suggest I won't learn practical things, it's just going to be quite a change, especially for someone who still finds tying their shoelaces a bit of an awkward activity! I'm also a very skinny and weak person, who already has something of a bad back. Oh well, I'll manage- I have to

I'm a bit less freaked out now than I was when I made this thread, but the effect of climate change still worries me a lot...

[disturbia]

join the police force  that way you have firearms when most of your  fellow ciitizens do not .  just don't go all crazy and start wearing motorcycle leathers , owning a realy ugly dog , a sawed off shotgun and calling yourself rockatansky , wait till next year for that 

Hah, and you know what, I just finished watching all the Mad Max movies back to back about 10 mintues ago and Reign of Fire before that. Now I'm in a seriously depressed mood. 

Hey Squalor. Welcome. I'm up in Central Queensland. I used to live in Sydney for a bit (Ryde and Redfern). WarriorMax is in Brissy. I think OzCynic is from Sydney as well but not sure. Haven't seen him on for a while.

[residualheat]

Just take your time, Squalor, you'll be okay. I've got 30 years on you, but two of the commonest things I say are still 'Oops' and 'Oh, bollocks'. Sounds like you need some more exercise, lad! Start slowly and keep at it; don't rush, find a comfortable pace and just keep plodding along and you'll soon get stronger. And eat your greens  

Actually, I know exactly what you mean about giving the appearance of intelligence but lacking common sense. It was something that used to worry me but these days I don't care so much. I think a lot of people have this idea that they're less practical or have less knowledge than people around them. You think that if you know something then it must be common knowledge and that you're always playing catch-up, when actually you probably know a lot more than you realise.